Kits for adapting old percussion revolvers to fire modern cartridges



Dec. 1, 1970 EN L HAL KITS FOR ADAPTING OLD PRECUSSION REVOLVERS TO FIRE MODERN CARTRIDGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1968 il M1 LL FM Dc'. 1', 1970 P. BENDELE ETAL 3,543,429

KITS FOR ADAPTING OLD PRECUSSION REVOLVERS TO FIRE MODERN CARTRIDGES Filed May 8, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent "ice U.S. C]. 4277 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A caliber-reducing kit for percussion revolvers, or the like intended to permit the firing of modern rigid cartridges with these known percussion firing guns, for example, of the Colt type, comprising in combination a shouldered barrel for fitting from the rear into the barrel of the percussion revolver, a shield surrounding the shoulder of the barrel and including an ejector, a cylinder of the usual type but including a rack offset towards the rear, 21 breech block carrying a striker operated by the normal striking system, and a movable loading flap permitting the introduction of the cartridges and the extraction of the cases.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to caliber-reducing kits for percussion revolvers.

It is known that modern rigid cartridges cannot be used with percussion revolvers of a well-known old type specially such as revolvers of the Remington or Colt type.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a caliber-reducing kit intended to permit the firing of modern cartridges in these old guns, without the necessity of effecting modifications in these guns.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a caliber-reducing kit in combination comprising a barrel adapted to fit into the original barrel of the percussion revolver, a shield surrounding the shoulder of the barrel and including an ejector, a cylinder of the usual model but having a rack which is transferred towards the rear, a breech block carrying a striker operated by the normal percussion system of the gun, a loading flap permitting the introduction of the cartridges and the extraction of the cartridge cases.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides kits which allow oldfashioned revolvers of the Colt or Remington types to be adapted for firing modern cartridges, for example small-bore cartridges such as long or short 0.22 inch caliber brass-cased cartridges.

Among the advantages are that the old revolvers do not need to be damaged or externally modified, that the kits can be easily assembled to and removed from the revolvers, and that the modern cartridges are reliable and commercially available at relatively low cost so that the old revolvers can be used inexpensively for target practice and without detriment to their value as historic specimens.

3,543,429 Patented Dec. 1, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS IN THE DRAWINGS With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded side elevation of a percussion revolver of the Colt type, equipped with the caliberreducing adaptor kit of the present invention;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are side elevational and end views of the shield, respectively;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are side elevational and left end views of the cylinder, respectively;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are elevational and end views, respectively, of the breech block; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of another embodiment of the barrel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, this is illustrated by way of example a percussion revolver of the Colt type, with the caliber reducing kit according to the present invention which is composed of various pieces.

Into the original barrel 1 of the revolver there is fitted from the rear, when it is a question of a revolver comprising a frame 1a, a barrel 2 on the rear of which a shoulder 3 is provided for its fastening; this shoulder can be either integral with the barrel or fixed to the barrel itself by any other means. The latter must be the case in percussion revolvers comprising a body which prevents the fitting from the rear (for example revolvers of the Remington type). In this case, and as shown in FIG. 5, the barrel 2 is fitted from the front and is held by a nut 4' at the rear, or any other appropriate means.

In order to fasten the barrel 2 or 2' rigidly to the original barrel of the gun, a nut 4 or any other piece can be fixed at the front end of the barrel (FIG. 5).

A shield 6 is provided between a cylinder 14 and the frame or body 1a, according to type, of the gun and includes a bore 7 (FIG. 2b) for the passage of a spindle 8 of the cylinder and a bore 9 open at its top and adapted to surround the shoulder 3 of the barrel 2 and is larger at portion 5 in its forward part in order to surround flange 1' of the original barrel 1.

The shield 6 further comprises an ejector 10 formed by a handle 10 and a small spindle 11 including a flange 11 of larger diameter at its other end. To use this ejector it is suflicient to turn the handle 10 by a quarter revolution so that it can pass into slot 12 provided in the side of the shield, and to exert by pressing a thrust against the action of a return spring 13 fitted on the spindle 11. The flange 11 then enters one of the cartridge orifices 14b (FIG. 3b) of the cylinder 14 to eject the cartridge case therein. The ejector can also be of the conventional type such as Colt Frontier or 1873 French, but fixed to the shield.

The cylinder 14 (FIGS. 3a and 3b) is of ordinary design and carries cartridges when inserted, as hereinafter described, in the cartridge orifices 14b, but its rack 15 is offset towards the rear so as to permit positioning of a breech lock. The cylinder 14 also fits on to the spindle 8 which serves as its axis of rotation and is formed at its front end with an opening 14a complementary to a rear cylindrical portion 6a of the shield 6 in which the portion 6a is inserted. This mounts the cylinder 14 on and against the shield 6, as well as positioning the ejector flange 11' which is located at the rear of the portion 6a adjacent the cartridge orifices 14b of the cylinder.

A breech block 16 (FIGS. 4a and 4b) is situated between the rear frame or body 1b of the gun and the rear of the cylinder 14, and upon the rack of the latter.

This breech block carries a striker 17 operated by the normal striking system 22 including trigger 23 of the gun.

Furthermore to permit the introduction of the cartridges and the extraction of the cartridge cases from the cylinder, the breech block 11) is provided with a loading flap 18 which is movable about a spindle 19 with which it is fastened. The spindle 19 carries a spring 20 which abuts on the one hand inside a bore and on the other hand against a thicker thrust part 121 of the spindle 19. Thus by pressing upon the thrust part 21 (to the left in the illustration of FIG. 4). against the action of the spring 20 the flap 18 is moved outwardly (to the left) and therefore can be rotated about the axis of spindle 19 to clear the adjacent orifice 14b of the cylinder 14, which orifice 14b is also situated opposite to the flange 11' of the ejector.

The various parts of this caliber-reducing kit have been described only by way of explanation for one type of percussion revolver, the Colt type, but they can be suitable, with slight modifications of detail, which do not relate to the scope of the invention, to any percussion firing guns.

While we have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A caliber-reducing adaptor kit for a percussion revolver having a front frame with an original revolver barrel and a rear frame housing a conventional striking system, adapted to permit the firing of rigid cartridges in old percussion guns comprising the combination of a barrel fitting into said original revolver barrel of said revolver and having a shoulder at its rear end, the latter against the rear end of said original revolver barrel,

a shield at least partially surrounding said shoulder of said barrel and including an ejector means,

a cylinder including orifices ada ted to hold cartridges therein and fitting against the back of said shield and having a rack disposed at its rear,

said rack being offset toward the rear,

a breech block arranged between said rear frame and the rear of said cylinder as well as upon said rack,

a striker carried by said breech block and adapted to be operated by said conventional striking system of said revolver,

said breech block further including a loading flap means for providing an opening permitting the introduction of said rigid cartridges into, and the extraction of cartridge cases from, said cylinder, and

said ejector means at least in part located adjacent one of said cartridges held in said cylinder and for pushing out said expended cartridges upon actuation thereof and when said loading flap means is in a position providing said opening for the removal of said cartridge cases.

2. The combination, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said original revolver barrel includes a flange at its rear and accommodates said first mentioned barrel,

a nut fixed at the front of said first mentioned barrel adjacent the front of said original revolver barrel, said first mentioned barrel being secured to said original revolver barrel cooperatively by said shoulder and said nut,

said shield is situated between said cylinder and said front frame and defines a bore,

said bore at least partially surrounds said shoulder of said first mentioned barrel and has a wider part at least partially surrounding said flange of said original revolver barrel,

said shield has a slot parallel to the axis of said shield,

said ejector means includes a handle and an ejector spindle angularly joined to one another, said spindle disposed in said slot and said handle rotatably mounted to pass into said slot upon actuation of said ejector means constituting a quarter revolution thereof and to be pressed in said slot to cause said ejector spindle to push out one of said cartridge cases from said cylinder, said ejector means further comprising a return spring means for biasing said ejector spindle and handle into the non-actuated position,

said breech block is formed with a loading flap bore,

said loading flap means comprises,

a loading flap spring mounted in said loading flap bore,

a loading flap spindle including at one end a thrust part mounted in said loading flap bore and against which said loading flap spring abuts, and

a loading flap fastened to the other end of said loading flap spindle and constituting a removable section of said breech block, said thrust part extending from the other side of said breech block and adapted to be pressed against the force of said loading flap spring causing the shifting of said loading flap and permitting the latter to be rotated with said loading flap spindle to clear one of said orifices of said cylinder at the rear of said cylinder, said ejector spindle located adjacent the front of said one of said orifices.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,150,914 3/1939 Gaidos 4259 2,329,273 9/ 1943 Kelly 4277 2,976,638 3/1961 Owens 4277 BENJAMIN A. B-ORCHELT, Primary Examiner C. T. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 4259 

